ALL

Good morning, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Today is a public holiday in Barcelona, but we decided to send a lesson anyway. 

Over the last 30 years or so, I have had A LOT of conversations with English students and, like many English teachers, I have become a sort of "expert" on the typical errors that students make while learning English. (So much so that I often catch myself repeating those errors when I speak to friends and family!) One type of "error" that has been bothering me over the last few months is the direct translation of the Spanish words todo or todos as ALL in phrases like these:
1) All the people
2) All the days
3) All the things
4) All the day

Although these combinations are not exactly incorrect, my students often use them in contexts where native speakers do not normally use ALL. I will go over the "normal" uses of ALL over the next few days. Today, I want to look at how to better express phrases 1-4 above.

Phrase 1: For "All the people" we normally say EVERYBODY or EVERYONE.

Example: Everybody says they want to learn English, but not everyone does what is necessary to learn it (i.e., make English a part of their daily routine).

Phrase 2: For "All the days" we normally say EVERY DAY.

Example: I try to go to the gym every day, but sometimes I'm too busy.

Phrase 3: For "All the things" we normally say EVERYTHING.

Example: Sometimes I have the impression that everything we eat causes cancer.

Phrase 4: For "All the day" we normally say THE WHOLE DAY or ALL DAY

Example: I have been working the whole day without a break; I didn't even have time for lunch.

⇒ In order to get some writing practice in English, I encourage you to write your own sentences using today's expressions/words. You can post your sentences on one of our social media sites (Facebook or Bluesky) and we will give you feedback about your writing ASAP.

Have a great day!